Residential security systems

Control4 Corporation, global provider of smart home solutions, has announced Control4 Smart Home OS 3. Control4 Smart Home OS 3 is designed to unify hundreds of connected devices within the home, control them all from a single platform, delivering the personalisation that homeowners want, and facilitating the professional support that smart home technology needs.
Control4 Smart Home OS 3
Control4 Smart Home OS 3 is designed to simplify the use of many connected devices throughout the home, exc...

Kwikset brand of Spectrum Brands, Inc. – Hardware & Home Improvement Division, globally renowned residential security solutions firm, has introduced the next generation of its popular Signature Series Deadbolt with Home Connect.
Signature Series Deadbolt with Home Connect
Available in both traditional (round) and contemporary (square) models like the original version, the new Signature Series Deadbolt (2nd Generation) with Home Connect will feature two significant upgrades:
The lo...

Hikvision, the supplier of innovative security products and solutions, launches the latest generation Turbo HD Series - Turbo HD X, which is a complete system to help stopping intruders in real-time, and avoiding damage and loss of property.
The Hikvision Turbo HD X series of cameras has a built-in detector that captures infrared light emitted by human bodies, distinguishing it from other visual ‘noise’. Once the camera detects a potential intruder, its built-in siren flashes red an...

Urmet is proud to present Alpha, a new line of modular entry panels for 2Voice systems; quick to install and easy to programme.
Alpha modular entry panels
The Alpha generation revolutionises the world of entry panels by developing an authentic icon of elegance, blending coated steel with methacrylate front plates to provide visual harmony and high resistance to UVA rays.
The Alpha generation revolutionises the world of entry panels by developing an authentic icon of elegance
In addition to i...

There’s no question that the popularity of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) security and home automation products is on the rise. The reasons for the growth in DIY sales are numerous, including increased awareness of home automation products, fast set-up, limited (if any) installation costs, and interoperability with other smart security products. In fact, with the parallel rise of smart home hubs like Alexa and Google Home, many people are opting to attempt the set-up of smart home devices without an...

News

A century after the ABLOY brand invented disc detainer technology, the company is still reimagining the future of security. In Finland, the ABLOY PULSE ecosystem now delivers highly encrypted, electronic access control via self-powered cylinders, padlocks and electronic keys — with no need for batteries or any external power supply.
A thirst for sustainable solutions grows in all walks of life — including security. In a recent survey for ASSA ABLOY’s ‘Wireless Access Control Report’, around three-quarters of industry leaders report sustainability as a growing influence on procurement decisions. Almost half of survey respondents pointed to greentech innovation like energy harvesting as a potential future solution.
PULSE key-based access control
The power generated by inserting and turning powers the lock’s encrypted electronic access control features“While the self-powered mechanism doesn’t generate much power,” notes the Report, “electronic door readers and wireless locks don’t actually need much power. They are inactive, and can power down, for long periods. Their only task — reading card credentials and releasing the lock — is completed in less than a second and at the expense of minimal energy.”
With PULSE key-based access control, ABLOY is already delivering this sustainable future.
PULSE locking is beautifully simple. A user inserts their PULSE key. The power generated by inserting and turning powers the lock’s encrypted electronic access control features. If the key is authorised, the lock opens.
Cloud-based access control software
Cloud-based access control software ensures administrators can program PULSE keys with just the right access permissions. Users carry one PULSE key programmed with their cleared permissions, no matter how many doors they need to open.
“With PULSE, sustainability, security and user-friendly operation work side-by-side,” says Kimmo Hirvonen, ABLOY PULSE Product Manager at Abloy Oy. “PULSE does everything you need from a 21st-century electronic access control system. And does it sustainably.”
“At ABLOY we have been creating the future of access control for over a century. Energy harvesting technology is the latest chapter.”
Easy to install and cost-efficient
A single PULSE installation can include a wired reader to secure communal doors, key-operated locks for apartment doorsPULSE is easy to install, because its locks require no major adjustments to doors. An installer just switches the existing cylinder for a PULSE cylinder. No wires and no batteries mean PULSE is cost-efficient as well as sustainable.
PULSE is perfectly adapted to any multi-resident housing block. A single PULSE installation can include a wired reader to secure communal doors, key-operated locks for apartment doors, and padlocks for storage rooms. Residents carry a single, programmable key to open every lock they need.
For block security managers, it is easy to investigate incidents because cloud-based software logs events and can generate audit trails for any lock or key. PULSE keys and cylinders are reusable and reprogrammable, so managing resident turnover is simple, too. Maintenance is minimal, because PULSE products are durable and weather-resistant.

Johnson Controls will soon announce the availability of the LUX KONOzw Smart Hub thermostat through its DSC channel. This is the first KONO thermostat featuring Z-Wave technology. KONOzw allows users to seamlessly connect DSC security systems, including PowerSeries Neo, iotega and PowerSeries Pro, when combined with SecureNet or Alarm.com interactive services to the smart thermostat through the Z-Wave smart hub.
Universal compatibility
KONOzw offers all the traditional modes of a smart thermostat, including heat & cool and works with forced air, gas, oil and electrical furnaces, giving end users the flexibility they need when choosing a thermostat. It also features universal compatibility with heat pump systems with or without Aux/Emergency heat and hydronic zone valves.
KONOzw also provides flexible installation with battery (4 AA batteries included) or C-wire powering options. Its patent-pending interchangeable décor-snap covers enable users to personalise the device – adding individual flair to the thermostat.
“The integration of KONOzw with Johnson Controls’ security systems illustrates the power of the smart home and our broad footprint for bringing innovative solutions to the market,” said Rob Munin, general manager of thermostats at Johnson Controls.
Leveraging smart systems capabilities
“The Z-Wave technology opens doors for organisations who want to integrate more functionality into a smart hub to further leverage the capabilities of their smart systems. We believe the KONOzw is an attractive solution for commercial and residential markets.”
The use of Z-Wave technology allows the thermostat to connect to other parts of a smart home through Alarm.com or SecureNet, while using minimal resources, in turn increasing battery life and reducing overall operating costs. With complete customisability available, users can reap all the benefits of a sleek, easy-to-use smart thermostat, while personalising it to their home decor.

EZVIZ Inc., the global smart home security brand, is pleased to announce the latest addition to its surveillance camera range with the arrival of the C3A. The CCTV camera offers a wide view of the home, driveway or garden as well as clear night vision to detect any intruders. The camera works in partnership with the EZVIZ app that allows users to access footage whenever and wherever. The C3A is available now from Amazon at an RRP of £149.99.
EZVIZ C3A CCTV camera
The C3A is compatible with voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
The EZVIZ C3A can be used in the home or outside thanks its IP65 rated weatherproof housing and is hassle-free with no wires to get tangled as it’s a stand-alone camera with a battery life of over three months. The extended battery life is thanks to the long life 5500mAh rechargeable lithium battery which is unlike any other camera in the EZVIZ range. In addition, if users add on the EZVIZ W2D base station they can prolong battery life to up to nine months1. The C3A is also compatible with voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The C3A is designed to monitor in all conditions and light levels and is equipped to alert home-owners of any activity thanks to its Smart Human Technology which notifies, using PIR technology, any people approaching the property. The intuitive camera can decipher whether motion is derived from a pet or human movement, when a notification would be made, but not when there are more subtle activities such as insects, the curtain moving or change of light.
Two-way communication
There is also a two-way talk function so if a visitor arrives whilst the occupant is not in the house, it is easy to communicate with them via the app. A helpful feature to have deliveries placed in secure locations, save a friend from waiting in the rain or to say thanks to the dog walker!
The device also smartly switches between day and night modes automatically
The camera has an ultra-wide-angle lens enabling a large expanse of the property to be monitored; whether that’s in a particular room or outside on the driveway, in the garden or at the front door. With its HD 1080p wide-angle lens, the C3A has a 126° view and at night can clearly deliver a crisp picture up to five meters away. The device also smartly switches between day and night modes automatically.
Wireless mobile access
Thanks to the multi-functional app, users can easily follow the instructions on the app to set up the EZVIZ C3A and can pair the device with WiFi. The app is also compatible with any other EZVIZ products so it can be the one-stop hub for all the home’s smart technology devices that can be viewed and managed remotely. EZVIZ cameras can hold a MicroSD card to save footage or users can opt to sign-up to a cloud-based storage or via an EZVIZ Network Video Recorder (NVR).

Interlogix, a global leader in security and life-safety solutions, introduces Simon XTi-5i, a self-contained, wireless security system for heightened residential security and convenience. An update to the Simon XTi-5 system, the new platform supports 80 wireless zones, features a 5-inch color LCD touchscreen and is compatible with a wide range of devices through leading service providers. Interlogix is a part of Carrier, a leading global provider of innovative heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies.
Simon XTi-5 wireless security system
“The latest version of the Simon XTi-5 system helps synchronise homes to keep families connected, protected and a whole lot more,” said Cooper Briscoe, residential solutions product leader, North America, Interlogix. “The devices and accessories available through Interlogix and Alarm.com interactive services make it easy to customise systems that meet each family’s specific needs and priorities whether in a house, apartment or condominium.”
When paired with an LTE modem from leading active home services provider Alarm.com, Simon panels can be used as a comfort management and automation system enabling local and remote control of Z-Wave devices such as wireless lighting controls, thermostats, door locks, garage doors and more.
Home security and automation solutions
The intuitive touch screen panel is easy to operate, making it ideal for users of all ages
The new system features a selectable user interface that matches the Alarm.com interactive services mobile application in color, style and icons – simplifying the user experience. At-a-glance system status provides a complete view of home security and automation systems, indoor temperature and outdoor weather. The panel comes standard with support for up to 80 wireless zones and a built-in battery backup keeps the system running in case of power failures.
Paired with an LTE modem from Alarm.com, the Simon XTi-5i panel enables other home security and automation features including:
Real-time look-ins and review of recorded snapshots for visual verification of alarms by using the Interlogix Image Sensor
Voice, email and text message reports
Two-way emergency communication with monitoring station personnel using the panel’s built-in microphone
Menu-based system programming and testing for fast and accurate installation of the panel and supported devices.
The intuitive touch screen panel is easy to operate, making it ideal for users of all ages.

Allegion, a provider of security products and solutions, announced its ENGAGE IP Gateway integrated with the latest version of RS2 Technologies’ Access It! Universal.Net software. RS2 Technologies released Version 7 of its software on March 11, which enables it to support Schlage Control, Schlage LE and Schlage NDE wireless locks as well as the Von Duprin Remote Undogging (RU) and Remote Monitoring (RM) options via the ENGAGE IP Gateway.
“Allegion is excited to grow our offering with RS2 Technologies and provide end users more flexibility when it comes to electronic access control,” said Robert Lydic, VP of PACS/ OEM Business at Allegion. “This IP-based integration gives our customers the scalable and cost-effective options they need. By completing this integration and incorporating our new Von Duprin RU and RM kits, the opportunities for the RS2 community have been expanded significantly.”
Real-time access control
Ethernet connectivity to the network enables real-time access control directly from an in- or out-of-network host to an edge deviceThe RS2 Technologies’ integration with the ENGAGE IP Gateway eliminates the need of an access control panel, which enables customers to grow the number of access control secured doors while maintaining their budgets.
The ENGAGE Gateway provides the ability to leverage existing IP-based infrastructure for maximum efficiency. Ethernet connectivity to the network enables real-time access control directly from an in- or out-of-network host to an edge device. To further simplify installation, the Gateway can be powered over Ethernet (PoE), removing the need for separate power supplies or wiring.
The ENGAGE Gateway performs regular, frequent communication between the Gateway and linked ENGAGE enabled devices. The Gateway is able to send commands such as lock and unlock from an IP host in real-time. Commands are executed in less than five seconds. As an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the Gateway leverages network security practices, including AES-256 bit and TLS encryption, to provide customers with secure, dependable experiences.
Solutions for housing and education markets
The ENGAGE IP Gateway integration allows us to deepen our support for specific verticals"RS2 customers were already able to utilise its Access It! Universal.Net with the Schlage NDE, LE and AD Series locks. This integration of the new software with the ENGAGE IP Gateway will further support the Schlage LE and NDE locks, and it adds the Schlage Control and Von Duprin perimeter security solutions to the offering.
“In addition to expanding our scalable, flexible solutions for our integrators and end users, the ENGAGE IP Gateway integration allows us to deepen our support for specific verticals,” said Jeff Bransfield, national sales manager at RS2 Technologies.
“We’ve seen demand from the multifamily housing market for the Schlage Control locks. And the Von Duprin RU and RM options are an excellent fit for the education market and larger venues. Adding these to our portfolio through the IP-based integration will help us better serve our customer bases.”
Schlage Control Smart Deadbolts
The Von Duprin RU and RM options expand the reach of the access control system to perimeter openings beyond main entrancesThe Schlage Control Smart Deadbolts offer highly scalable, efficiency-boosting capabilities so that multifamily properties can focus on operating more profitably—and with greater appeal for residents. Property managers can configure and manage access from virtually anywhere and moving to smart credentials eliminate the costs and hassles of managing keys.
The Von Duprin RU and RM options expand the reach of the access control system to perimeter openings beyond main entrances. The Von Duprin RU option retrofit kit for exit devices is a cost-effective solution that enables remote locking (undogging) for centralised lock down and door status monitoring. The RM option is a sensor-only configuration for exit only or fire rate doors that require monitoring.
Version 7.0 of Access It! Universal.NET, an industry-leading access control solution, continues to deliver a complete access control solution at an unsurpassed value. Access It! Universal.NET Version 7.0 is built with a focus on interoperability, security and scalability. New features include expanded support for leading hardware solutions, destination dispatch, expanded reporting and filtering, QR codes for badging and operating modes for enhanced system control and flexibility.

Resideo Technologies, Inc. is highlighting its latest offerings at ISC West 2019 for the first time as a standalone company, following its successful spinoff from Honeywell. The security industry will see Resideo’s new home automation platforms, a new security dealer loyalty program and how the companies’ new voice, video and mobile solutions integrate with consumer’s connected lifestyles to give dealers opportunities to expand their businesses.
Home security
“We are fully committed to providing our dealers with the right products and programs they need to win more customers, keep them longer and drive profits, while delivering an exceptional homeowner experience,” said Alice DeBiasio, vice president and general manager, Residential Pro Security at Resideo.
“Increasingly, a majority of consumers prefer to have a professional install their home security system because it offers them assurance it was done right and will work correctly when they need it. It’s the professionally installed and monitored solution that helps homeowners have peace of mind that if something happens, their local police or emergency personnel will be alerted to help protect what matters most – their loved ones, valued possessions and property.”
The loyalty program provides sales and marketing support, training and financial rewards
Premier security dealer programme
Further demonstrating its commitment to the professional channel, the company has launched the Resideo Premier Security Dealer Program to help participating dealers expand in the security and smart home market, while driving value for homeowners.
Led by industry veterans and designed with input from top security dealers, the loyalty program provides sales and marketing support, training and financial rewards, and will help dealers differentiate in today’s market.
Next generation security platform
Resideo is showing the new Honeywell Home ProSeries Security and Smart Home Platform that will be available later this year. From an entry-level security installation to a fully integrated smart home solution, the ProSeries was designed to give dealers the end-to-end platform they need to deliver a complete security and smart home solution. The platform offers fast and responsive operation and creates a sophisticated user experience that is simple to understand.
The ProSeries boasts numerous features to fit today’s consumer lifestyle including built-in voice control for hands-free operation
A common user interface is featured across all customer touchpoints – panel, touchscreen, app – making the system easy for consumers to learn and operate. In addition, the ProSeries boasts numerous features to fit today’s consumer lifestyle including built-in voice control for hands-free operation, video alarm verification to reduce false alarms, and the convenience of Bluetooth system disarming.
Line of sensors and life safety devices
Built on a common platform, dealers can learn one system and know them all for easy installation and support. The expanded line of sensors and life safety devices are interchangeable across the entire platform to help reduce inventory and training costs, and user-replaceable parts provide added convenience and help to reduce truck rolls. Additionally, the new system features a modular design with expansion modules, allowing dealers to buy only what they need to help drive down operating costs.
The ProSeries platform will integrate with the next generation of Resideo Total Connect for a seamless user experience. The updated platform features a redesigned consumer interface, faster connection and improved functionality, all streamlined with remote programming and device management through AlarmNet 360.
Other technologies on display
Expanding Smart Home Ecosystem: As voice assistants continue their use in homes, Resideo is expanding its ecosystem with key integrations to give users control of their system from their voice assistant platform of choice. In addition to Amazon Alexa, Total Connect will integrate with Google Assistant to provide additional voice controls, as well as IFTTT to help users connect more devices and services together for a broader platform.
Total Connect Intelligent Multi-Family Property Solutions: New feature allows property managers, builders and others to remotely manage multiple properties while offering smart security options to renters.
LTE (Long Term Evolution) Cellular Communicators: Resideo’s expanded line of LTE radios provides enhanced security and system longevity. Dealers are invited to visit the LTE opportunity pavilion located within Resideo’s booth to learn how they can turn routine upgrades into new sales opportunities.
Tuxedo Graphic Touchscreen for VISTA®: The new Tuxedo graphic touchscreen controller offers a friendly user interface and seamless integration with security and automation, to help attract new customers and upgrade existing ones
In addition, Brandon Board, chief information security officer at Resideo, will participate in the session Consumer Privacy – How Can Security Lead the Way? on Thursday, April 11, at 9:45-10:45 a.m. PDT. The panel session will explore current practices and opportunities for the security industry to strengthen their leadership in privacy standards.

Expert commentary

Johnson Controls recently unveiled the findings of its 2018 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey that examined the current and planned investments and key drivers to improve energy efficiency and building systems integration in facilities.
Systems integration was identified as one of the top technologies expected to have the biggest impact on the implementation in smart buildings over the next five years, with respondents planning to invest in security, fire and life-safety integrations more so than any other systems integration in the next year.
As advanced, connected technologies drive the evolution of smart buildings, security and safety technologies are at the center of more intelligent strategies as they attribute to overall building operations and efficiencies.
SourceSecurity.com spoke with Johnson Controls, Building Solutions, North America, VP of Marketing, Hank Monaco, and Senior National Director of Municipal Infrastructure and Smart Cities, Lisa Brown, about the results of the study, smart technology investments and the benefits of a holistic building strategy that integrates security and fire and life-safety systems with core building systems.
Q: What is the most striking result from the survey, and what does it mean in the context of a building’s safety and security systems?
The results show an increased understanding about the value of integrating safety and security systems with other building systems
Hank Monaco: Investment in building system integration increased 23 percent in 2019 compared to 2018, the largest increase of any measure in the survey. When respondents were asked more specifically what systems they we planning to invest in over the next year, fire and life safety integration (61%) and security system integration (58%) were the top two priorities for organisations.
The results show an increased understanding about the value of integrating safety and security systems with other building systems to improve overall operations and bolster capabilities beyond the intended function of an individual system.
Q: The survey covers integration of fire, life safety and security systems as part of "smart building" systems. How do smarter buildings increase the effectiveness of security and life safety systems?
Hank Monaco: A true “smart building” integrates all building systems – security, fire and life-safety, HVAC, lighting etc. – to create a connected, digital infrastructure that enables individual technologies to be more intelligent and perform more advanced functions beyond what they can do on their own.
For example, when sensors and video surveillance are integrated with lighting systems, if abnormal activity is detected on the building premise, key stakeholders can be automatically alerted to increase emergency response time. With integrated video surveillance, they also gain the ability to access surveillance footage remotely to assess the situation.
When sensors and video surveillance are integrated with lighting systems abnormal activity on the premise can automatically be detected
Q: How can integrated security and life safety systems contribute to greater energy efficiency in a smart building environment?
Hank Monaco: Security, fire and life-safety systems can help to inform other building systems about how a facility is used, high-trafficked areas and the flow of occupants within a building. Integrated building solutions produce a myriad of data that can be leveraged to increase operational efficiencies.
From an energy efficiency standpoint, actionable insights are particularly useful for areas that are not frequently occupied or off-peak hours as you wouldn’t want to heat or cool an entire building for just one person coming in on the weekend.
When video surveillance is integrated with HVAC and lighting systems, it can monitor occupancy in a room or hallway. The video analytics can then control the dimming of lights and the temperature depending on occupant levels in a specific vicinity.
Similarly, when access control systems are integrated with these same systems, once a card is presented to the reader, it can signal the lights or HVAC system to turn on. In this example, systems integration can ultimately help enable energy savings in the long run.
Security and life safety systems contribute to help enable greater energy efficiency and energy savings in the long run
Q: What other benefits of integration are there (beyond the core security and life safety functions)?
Hank Monaco: Beyond increased security, fire and life-safety functions, the benefits of systems integration include:
Increased data and analytics to garner a holistic, streamlined understanding of how systems function and how to improve productivity
Ability to track usage to increase efficiency and reduce operational costs
Enhanced occupant experience and comfort
Increased productivity and workflow to support business objectives
Smart-ready, connected environment that can support future technology advancements
Q: What lesson or action point should a building owner/operator take from the survey? How can the owner of an existing building leverage the benefits of the smart building environment incrementally and absent a complete overhaul?
Lisa Brown: Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator found that 77% of organisations plan to make investments in energy efficiency and smarter building technology this year. This percentage demonstrates an increased understanding of the benefits of smart buildings and highlights the proactive efforts building owners are taking to adopt advanced technologies.
There is an increased understanding that buildings operate more effectively when different building systems are connected
As smart buildings continue to evolve, more facilities are beginning to explore opportunities to advance their own spaces. A complete overhaul of legacy systems is not necessary as small investments today can help position a facility to more easily adopt technologies at scale in the future.
As a first step, it’s important for building owners to conduct an assessment and establish a strategy that defines a comprehensive set of requirements and prioritises use-cases and implementations. From there, incremental investments and updates can be made over a realistic timeline.
Q: What is the ROI of smart buildings?
Lisa Brown: As demonstrated by our survey, there is an increased understanding that buildings operate more effectively when different building systems are connected. The advanced analytics and more streamlined data that is gathered through systems integration can provide the building-performance metrics to help better understand the return on investment (ROI) of the building systems.
This data is used to better understand the environment and make assessments and improvements overtime to increase efficiencies. Moreover, analytics and data provide valuable insights into where action is needed and what type of return can be expected from key investments.

Users of security systems have long been willing to sacrifice certain aspects of security in favour of convenience and ease of use. The tide seems to be turning, however, with the industry at large showing significant concerns over cyber security. End user sentiments also seem to be following that trend, becoming more cautious when it comes to having their security systems connected to the internet.
While it has become the norm for security systems to be accessible online, still it presents security threats that unconnected systems would not face. In 2018, we saw a notable shift from the convenience of a connected system to the less convenient, but more secure, standalone system. Consumers are willingly making the choice to trade convenience for security, and companies are responding.
While cyber security concerns will continue to be a big topic of discussion, connected platforms will probably be the trend of 2019This in turn is driving an increase in more IoT-like deployments. Rather than the traditional client that is connected to a device to retrieve information, more often we are seeing more active devices, capable of reporting their presence and transmitting information on a scheduled basis, without the need for a client.
Preventing security systems from outside threats
This changes the dynamic of the network and alleviates many threats associated with traditional systems because there is no opportunity for outside threats to access your system since the device is transmitting information out vs requiring a connection to the outside world. With IoT deployments, when the device is active and sending messages out of the network segment, it is not vulnerable in the same way that the traditional systems are.
While cyber security concerns will continue to be a big topic of discussion, connected platforms will probably be the trend of 2019. In 2018, we saw an increased acceptance in the residential market for smart home applications. While this has been an area of discussion for the past ten years, it is now gaining real traction. With artificial intelligent capabilities in tow, smart home deployments are more common than ever and the video analytics that accompany them are quite impressive.
Cloud security for the commercial sector
If consumers are trusting their home security systems with this, it only makes sense that they will begin trusting Google to provide security for their offices as wellIn addition to the residential market, connected platforms will likely start to impact the commercial space as well. The border between consumer and commercial user will become a little more blurred. Companies such as Google that cater primarily to home services have cloud capabilities beyond the means of many competitors, in turn giving them a favourable advantage to provide security for the cloud. If consumers are trusting their home security systems with this, it only makes sense that they will begin trusting Google to provide security for their offices as well.
As far as ONVIF is concerned, we are excited to see how the market will adopt the newly released Profile T for advanced video streaming in the coming year. We are also excited to explore our relationship with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), by continuing our work on giving devices the ability to communicate upwards and proactively. It is clear that the market is open to adopting models in the quest for more efficiency without sacrificing security.

Market dynamics are changing the U.S. residential security market, creating new business models that better appeal to the approximately 70% of households without a security system. Smart home adjacencies have helped revitalise the traditional security industry, and alternative approaches to systems and monitoring for the security industry are emerging, including a new batch of DIY systems.
Growth in the residential security market and its position as the channel for smart home solutions have attracted numerous new entrants. Telecoms, cable operators, and CE (consumer electronics) manufacturers are joining traditional security players as they compete to fulfill consumer demand for safety and security. Connected products also provide a layer of competition as consumers must decide whether having category devices such as doorbell video cameras, networked cameras, and other products suffice for their security.
Increasingly competitive landscape
Smart home services can provide additional revenue streams for the security industry
For instance, IP cameras are a highly popular smart home device rooted in security, and Parks Associates estimates 7.7 million standalone and all-in-one networked/IP cameras will be sold in the U.S. in 2018, with $889M in revenues. Product owners may feel their security needs are fulfilled with this single purchase, as such dealers and service providers are under increasing pressure to communicate their value proposition to consumers. Categorically, each type of player is facing competition uniquely—national, regional, and local dealers all have a different strategy for overcoming the increasingly competitive landscape.
Smart home services can provide additional revenue streams for the security industry. In Parks Associates’ 2017 survey of U.S. security dealers, 58% report that smart home service capabilities enable extra monthly revenue. Almost half of dealers also note they have to offer smart home devices and services in order to keep up with their competition. While white-label devices are acceptable in some instances, dealers need to integrate with hero products whenever possible when those exist for a category.
For dealers who have added smart home devices and services are all potential benefits and good for business
Improved customer engagement
That 2017 survey also revealed 36% of security dealers that offer interactive services report security system sales with a networked camera and 16% report sales with a smart thermostat. For dealers who have added smart home devices and services, enhanced system utility, increased daily value, and improved customer engagement with the system are all potential benefits and good for business.
Security has served as the most productive channel for smart home solutions, mainly because the products create natural extensions of a security system’s functions and benefits, but as smart home devices, subsystems, and controllers expand their functionality, availability, and DIY capabilities, many standalone devices constitute competition to classical security. Particularly viable substitute devices include IP cameras, smart door locks, smart garage doors, or a combination of these devices. Products that are self-installed offer both convenience and cost savings, and these drivers are significant among DIY consumers—among the 6% of broadband households that installed a security system themselves, 39% did it to save money.
Enhance traditional security
Self-installable smart home devices may resonate with a segment of the market who want security
While many security dealers believe substitute offerings are a threat, some dealers do not find such devices an existential threat but instead view them as another path to consumer awareness. They argue that the difference between smart product substitutes and traditional security is that of a solution that provides knowledge versus a system that gives one the ability to act on that knowledge.
A common theme among professional monitoring providers is that a homeowner who is aware of events happening in the home does not necessarily have a secure and protected household. For example, a Nest camera, a DIY product, notifies a consumer via smartphone about events in the home when it detects motion, but only when the notification is opened and identified will a consumer be able to act on the related event. Self-installable smart home devices may resonate with a segment of the market who want security but are unwilling to adopt professional monitoring; however, providers can leverage these devices to enhance traditional security features and communicate the value of professional monitoring.
Smart home devices and features, while posing a threat to some security companies, are a potential way forward to increased market growth
Increased market growth
A key counterstrategy for security dealers and companies is to leverage their current, powerful role as the prime channel for smart home devices. Many security dealers now include smart home devices with their security systems to complement their offerings and increase system engagement. For example, as of Q4 2017, nearly 70% of U.S. broadband households that were very likely to purchase a security system in the next 12 months reported that they want a camera to be included as part of their security system purchase.
In response, many security system providers now offer IP cameras as optional enhancements for their systems. Smart home devices and features, while posing a threat to some security companies, are a potential way forward to increased market growth. Security dealers have an opportunity to become more than a security provider but a smart home solutions provider rooted in safety.
Provide status updates
Comcast has entered both the professionally monitored security market and the market for smart home services
The alternative is to position as a provider of basic security with low price as the key differentiator. Comcast has entered both the professionally monitored security market and the market for smart home services independent of security. It has discovered that monetising smart home value propositions through recurring revenue becomes increasingly challenging as the value extends further away from life safety.
Since the security industry remains the main channel for smart home services, security dealers are in a unique position to leverage that strength. Value propositions must shift from the traditional arming and disarming of a system to peace-of-mind experiences that builds off the benefits of smart devices in the home to provide status updates (e.g., if the kids arrived home safely) and monitoring at will (e.g., checking home status at any time to see a pet or monitor a package delivery).
These types of clear value propositions and compelling use cases, which resonate with consumer and motivate them to expand beyond standalone products, will help expand the home security market.

Security beat

Security is among the defining topics at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 this week in Las Vegas. More than 4,500 exhibiting companies are participating, including some 1,200 startups, highlighting the next wave of innovation in consumer electronics – and security.
Twenty-four product categories at CES feature solutions to transform how consumers live, work and play. Technologies being highlighted include 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality, smart homes, smart cities, and machine intelligence.
Video is an important element at CES. This year, the focus is on intelligent video. For example, Eyecloud.ai, Santa Clara, Calif., is displaying a home security camera with on-device face recognition that uses AI. Powered by a 12-core Intel Movidius VPU (video processing unit), the camera combines AI-on-the-edge with easy setup and wirefree operation for up to six months per battery charge.
On-device artificial intelligence
On-device AI is the next big trend in smart home surveillance, and deep neural networks will drive the future of do-it-yourself home automation
SimCam, an Intel partner, demonstrates how the Intel Movidius VPU can turn a security camera into ‘the ultimate vision-based sensor’. On-device AI is the next big trend in smart home surveillance, and deep neural networks will drive the future of do-it-yourself home automation.
A variety of other residential video systems are also on display at CES. For example, Swann Security is displaying 4K wired security systems featuring Google integration, a wireless smart security camera with True Detect heat-based PIR (photo infrared) motion detection, a video doorbell and chime with two-way talk, and indoor and outdoor wi-fi cameras with Alexa integrations.
Intelligent automotive solutions
Camera system-on-chip (SoC) company Ambarella is introducing the new CV25 camera SoC at CES. It combines advanced image processing, high-resolution video encoding and CVflow computer vision (video analytics) processing in a single, extremely low-power design. The CVflow architecture provides Deep Neural Network (DNN) processing required for a new generation of affordable and intelligent home monitoring, professional surveillance and aftermarket automotive solutions.
CV25 offers half the performance of Ambarella’s previously released CV22 chip, but the new chip’s lower cost will bring intelligent cameras to a price point desirable for home systems. All Ambarella’s chips have hardware-based cybersecurity. A suite of advanced cybersecurity features protects against hacking, including secure boot, TrustZone, and I/O virtualisation. Based on 10nm ultra-low power processing technology, the CV25 chip is optimised for wirefree cameras applications that require long battery life and small form factors.
Camera system-on-chip (SoC) company Ambarella is introducing the new CV25 camera SoC at CES
Virtual security guards
Elsewhere, the Deep Sentinel home security system applies video and AI to predict residential break-ins ‘before they happen’. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based tech startup uses ‘AI-infused security cameras’ to keep an eye on your home. Three wireless 1080p full HD cameras provide night vision and PIR motion sensing, connected by a smart hub. Using proprietary artificial intelligence, the cameras act as virtual guards, watching activity around a house and providing alerts to situations that may lead to burglaries, break-ins, package thefts and other dangers.
My Safe Patrol is an AI-driven platform that analyses data aggregated from security personnel, citizen alert systems and IoT smart devices, and responds with geolocated alerts in real-time. My Safe Patrol effectively supports the security/safety ecosystem of a building, a campus, a city or a district through a dynamic dashboard that helps command and control operations manage and deploy security plans.
AI-integrated devices
Showcased solutions include Smart Living integration of video surveillance applications to enable real-time two-way audio and video streaming simultaneously
MicroVision, Redmond, Wash., showcases an interactive display engine for AI-connected devices, providing an integrated solution for projected display and interactivity through multi-point touch and air gestures. MicroVision’s new consumer 3D LiDAR engine provides high-fidelity spatial awareness to smart home hubs, for input to smart devices such as lighting, security, entertainment, and thermostats.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is another big topic at CES, and ThroughTek Co., Ltd., Taiwan, demonstrates IoT developments to transmit voice, video and data over both wide- and narrow-band channels in smart home applications. Showcased solutions include Smart Living integration of video surveillance applications combined with voice assistant to companion robots, wireless doorbells, and battery cameras to enable real-time two-way audio and video streaming simultaneously.
Advanced Capacitive Touchscreen
Decayeux Group, a European manufacturer of mailboxes and high security doors, is displaying MyColisBox, a secure and connected parcel box delivery system designed to provide online shoppers a secure pickup point accessible by a PIN code sent via SMS message to a smartphone. Walter is the new mobile app for MyColisBox.
Kwikset, a division of Spectrum Brands, showcases its smart lock portfolio – including three new smart locks – in the CES Smart Home Marketplace. Kwikset is showing the SmartCode 888, Kwikset Convert, Obsidian, and new designs of the SmartCode 914 and SmartCode 916, as well as a new wi-fi lock. Baldwin, Kwikset’s ‘luxury lock’ sister company, is offering a preview of its new TouchScreen Collection, launching this summer, available in five styles and featuring Advanced Capacitive Touchscreen technology.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is another big topic at CES, with many companies demonstrating IoT developments
Cyber security standards
Privacy is increasingly a concern in the consumer space, and Private Discuss, from PIMAN Security, is a premium, secure, white label communication solution. Their active AI-powered defense architecture provides encrypted audio and video calls, messaging and file sharing. It renders a confidential, secure messaging platform that adheres to the highest standards of cybersecurity.
FLIR provides virtual reality demonstrations at their CES booth, allowing attendees to put on a virtual fire helmet and try out a FLIR camera in a real-world residential fire response scenario. Participants may also use a FLIR optical gas imaging camera virtually to stop fugitive emissions in a natural gas refinery. Booth visitors may also take “thermal selfies” to post on social media.

When Linus Yale Sr. invented the pin tumbler cylinder lock, it was the start of an iconic security brand that would eventually be known all over the world. What began in a lock shop in Newport, New York, would eventually evolve into the global presence of the brand “Yale” that we know today.
The Yale brand was purchased in August 2000 by the Swedish lock manufacturer ASSA ABLOY Group, which expanded Yale’s global presence in the ensuing years and recently has led the way into smart locks and building automation. This year, ASSA ABLOY is marking the 175th anniversary of the Yale brand.
Global home security brand
“People all over the world trust the brand to protect what they love most in their homes,” says Kate Clark, Managing Director of Yale EMEA at ASSA ABLOY.
Although Yale has a successful commercial sector business in the United States, in the rest of the world Yale is a residential brand. The Yale brand is well known in 130 countries from Australia to the Czech Republic to Colombia, and is popular in Africa, too.
In the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) market alone, Yale has around 20,000 products; that’s without counting products sold in the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions. Yale is familiar as a generic term for “lock” in some areas and is one of the largest home security brands in the world.
Expansion into digital locks
Good old-fashioned cylinder locks still look nice and cost the right amount of money, so they are in demand
“I think we stand for safety, quality and reliability, and that hasn’t changed,” says Clark. “It’s as important now as ever. We have tried to pioneer new technology in the industry, new innovations. The rate of acceleration has increased, and there are so many technologies we have to understand and work with.”
Growing beyond its heritage in mechanical locking systems, Yale is now expanding into digital locks that can protect homes with a high level of security synonymous with the Yale brand. The current selection of locks includes partnerships with tech brands such as Nest Labs (Google) and Alexa (Amazon).
There is a rapid acceleration of growth in the electro-mechanical lock market. But even as the focus expands to smart locks and partnerships with tech companies, Yale continues to dedicate time and resources to the design of their core mechanical products. Good old-fashioned cylinder locks still look nice and cost the right amount of money, so they are in demand. Yale padlocks and bike locks also keep the name top-of-mind.
There’s an ongoing education process as home locks expand beyond the use of mechanical devices and even personal identification (PIN) codes.
Beyond mechanical locks and PIN codes
“It’s important for people to know that we have been around a long time, and we want to celebrate that,” says Clark. “It’s a fantastic story around the brand and what we have achieved. Internally we have a lot of people doing a lot of great things with the brand. We inspire people working with the brand and show them that this is the pedigree, and it should be cherished. We are also raising awareness among younger people, so they know that we are still relevant.”
We have an obligation to show people that the new technologies are just as secure as mechanical locks"
There’s an ongoing education process as home locks expand beyond the use of mechanical devices and even personal identification (PIN) codes. “We have to take people on a journey,” says Clark. “We have an obligation to show them that the new technologies are just as secure as mechanical locks. If we eliminate PIN codes, we have to do it in a secure and safe way. Then suddenly access to your home can be made available by a company you trust.”
Smart home security
“We have a responsibility to do our best job with the new technology – it’s wonderful, but it needs to be used correctly,” says Clark. “I personally feel a responsibility to do that in the right way.” For example, in working with Amazon and Alexa to remotely authorise the delivery of a parcel to a home, concerns of security must be weighed carefully along with issues of convenience. “It’s important that we get the balance right,” says Clark. “We need to know the right person is giving the right voice command to lock a lock. We have to be true to our core as ‘security first.’”
Will Yale be here another 175 years? Clark says she doesn’t expect to be around to find out but will do her best to preserve and promote the brand until she hands it off to a new caretaker.

The concept of door locks means something totally different in our current age of smarter buildings that house data-driven businesses. Hardware locks and keys are still around, but they co-exist with a brave new world of electronic locks, wireless locks, networked systems, and smarter access control. Locks can also increasingly be a part of a smart building’s flow of data. The opportunities of these new technologies and approaches are significant, but there are also pitfalls. I heard an interesting discussion about these topics presented by several business leaders from lock company Allegion at a press event at ISC West earlier this year. Here are some highlights from that discussion.
Q: What new developments in emerging technologies do you see in the coming years?
There’s opportunity for implementation of the technology to solve real problems"
Mark Jenner, Market Development Director: Connected locks, other types of sensors and all the data being aggregated inside buildings provide opportunity for data analytics. The buzzwords around technologies can cause confusion for integrators and end users, such as artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine learning, and what’s the difference among all of them? My opinion is that they are important, but the big theme across them all is opportunities for new business models for the integrator, and opportunities to solve problems for end users. And it’s not just technology for technology’s sake. There’s opportunity for implementation of the technology to solve real problems.
Devin Love, Market Development Manager: You can’t just have a solution looking for a problem. You see a lot of people who understand technology in their own lives, and they want to translate that into their businesses. That’s where I think it’s exciting. You now have all this technology, and people understand it to the extent that it improves their daily life. They go through their day with less friction, with more ease, and technology fades to the background. There are two levels of value. One is the longer, bigger, broader scope of what the technology can bring to a company using it, but on an immediate basis, there is the value of tracking how a business is running. These sensors are collecting data. For example, if you are a multi-tenant property, you can look at how amenities are being used. What do my residents really care about? That informs future decisions.
Robert Gaulden, Project Based Business Leader, Electronic Access Control: I have been studying the multi-family space for the last couple of months. The customer experience is really driving a lot of that technology adoption. What you’re seeing today, whether it’s a mobile device or some other device, is the ability to move throughout the property, and gain access to the perimeter and to your tenant space. All of this adoption is around that experience. There’s multiple players coming into the space, from Amazon wanting to deliver packages into the tenant space to residents who don’t want the inconvenience of using a key. Technology adoption to solve problems, and also to drive experiences, is where a lot of the balance will play out.
It’s important that we look at how integrators can use the technology to do business more effectively and efficiently"
Brad Aikin, Channel Led Business Leader, Integrator Channel: From an integrator perspective, there are two things. One is how they can approach end users, and the scope of what integrators consult with them about is wider. I think we as an industry are getting beyond those high-traffic, high-security applications. Those are still critical, but the value we bring around security and convenience is opening a new incremental opportunity. Also, the experience of the integrator and how they conduct their business is important, from generating quotes to communications to proactive servicing. It’s important that we look at how integrators can use the technology to do business more effectively and efficiently.
Gaulden: We as an industry, and we as manufacturers, need to understand what data we are generating so we can run our businesses more efficiently from every aspect, whether you’re the property manager, the building owner, the integrator, or whether you’re the manufacturer. These devices and technology are being pushed out everywhere and will generate the data. How we learn from that – especially when you apply security to it to be more proactive – provides huge opportunities.
Jenner: What data is important and what’s not? Folks get overwhelmed with too much data at some point. What’s important for an application at the end user level? What do they really need to solve the problem?
Love: Privacy gets involved as well, especially with consumer products. The attitude is “stay out of my private business.” But if you’re an employee now, all bets are off. Now you have a professional relationship with the people you work with, so there is a different lens that you look through when tracking data. You use the data to everyone’s benefit, and it’s a different paradigm than in your private life.
Aikin: Also, where does that data create a better experience for the person? That’s what drives the money and value: What level of information sharing makes my experience better? The technology is also getting smarter in terms of “how do we sort through the valuable information?”
Hardware locks and keys are still around, but they co-exist with a brave new world of electronic locks, wireless locks, networked systems, and smarter access control
Q: As facilities connect more devices and sensors, the cybersecurity threats increase. We have already seen Internet of Things (IoT) devices being used as the attack point of cyber breaches. What are the vulnerabilities that make those attacks possible, and how can integrators protect their customers?
Love: Certainly, this is an extremely – maybe the most important – piece of our industry. What is the point of everything we do if we can’t instill that trust? But what we need to solve here also comes with opportunity. There’s certainly hope. You’re not seeing a frontal attack on the technology. It’s usually some loophole, or some older device that hasn’t been updated, or wasn’t installed correctly, or it was social-engineered. The opportunity is, not that it can’t be solved, but that it absolutely needs to be solved – and it can.
Gaulden: Integrators need the ability to understand that cyber layer and what it means. Nowadays, everything runs on the network, and you won’t even get past the IT department to get on the network if you don’t have the right staff, the right credentials. From an integrator standpoint, you need the ability to add to your staff, to understand everything from the product level to the firmware and the software level, all the way to the deployment of the holistic system. You can’t just say, “That’s not part of our responsibility.” All these devices are now riding on the network. They can be protected from a cyber perspective, or you will have vulnerabilities.
As manufacturers and business consultants to integrators, we should facilitate the conversation, that it is one ecosystem"
Aikin: Everything is a communication device. With the concern and need comes an opportunity for the integrator. But it’s also in making sure integrators are having that conversation with end users and setting the expectations up front. What I’m providing you on day one is the best in the industry at this time, but tomorrow it may not be. My accountability and service are to maintain that environment and keep it running. I may not physically change the device you see, but the service I’m bringing to you is that security, and that comprehensive dialogue. The IT stakeholders already have that expectation, but there is a chasm in some organisations between the physical security and the IT stakeholders, and the integrator is facilitating that conversation. As manufacturers and business consultants to integrators, we should facilitate that conversation. It is one ecosystem.
Q: Aside from cybersecurity, what are some of the other threats that integrators should be aware of as they work with customers to implement the new trends and technologies we have mentioned?
Aikin: It is diversifying, all the options and the capabilities. With that comes confusion and misapplication. If I look at the trends around just wireless; I go back 10 years ago, there were even questions of whether wireless was a secure technology. That has progressed and continues to be part of the cyber conversation, just like any hardwired product. It’s something you have to maintain and be aware of. Wireless has really diversified. There is still a need for education within the channel, and most importantly, to the end user. There are still end users that assume a WiFi widget is the same thing as a Bluetooth widget is the same thing as a low-frequency widget. But they are all different. There are reasons there are different technologies. Nothing stifles the adoption of technology more than misapplication.
We have different architectures within our lock base and among our software partners to allow a mix of technology"
Gaulden: Integrators understand the differences in how various doors are used and how those applications will work. In the K-12 school environment, you want the ability for an instant lockdown, and a WiFi deployment probably isn’t your best option. You need a real-time deployment. However, my office door at headquarters doesn’t necessarily need real-time communication. I can pull audits off it once or twice a day. You have to mix and match technologies. For a high security door, you would proactively monitor it. But for a door where convenience is the goal, we can put electronic security on it but we don’t need to know what’s going on at any moment in time. We have different architectures within our lock base and among our software partners to allow that mix of technology.
Jenner: End users want the latest technology, but it may not be for their applications. Those things drive more costs into it, when end users need to be putting money into cybersecurity and some other things. That’s part of the misapplication. Another risk is interoperability. That’s a big piece of the technology and as things change. How do we do a better job of supporting open architecture? It may not be a standards-based protocol, although we use a lot of standards, but we just need to make sure whatever protocols we use are open and easily accessible so we can continue to work with them in the future. We know that when our devices go in, they will support other parts of the ecosystem from an interoperability perspective. That’s important for integrators to know: How is this going to be applied and integrate with something in three, four or five years from now? It’s an expensive investment, and I want to make sure it will work in the future.
Main photo: Business leaders from Allegion discussed new trends in electronic and wireless locks at a recent press event: (L-R) Robert Gaulden, Devin Love, Brad Aikin and Mark Jenner.

Case studies

Fermax is delighted to have been able to offer an ideal, cost effective solution to allow installation partners to complete a successful upgrade of a large apartment complex in Nottingham.
Working with its approved partner FSE Security systems and involving over 90 apartments at Marina Park Nottingham, the challenge was to upgrade an old third-party audio only system to a modern audio-video system with the minimum of disturbance to residents and without incurring excessive high cost.
By using the Fermax 2 Wire Duox system with SKYLINE surface mounted panels and VEO-XS flat screen hands-free video monitors, the installation was completed using existing cables throughout, achieving major reductions in time and material cost.
Benefit of image storage
Residents were delighted to be able to upgrade to the new Fermax VEO-XS monitor using innovative 2 wire DUOX technology offering the high-quality performance of a purely digital system.
As well as its modern, slimline design, the VEO XS hands-free monitor offers the added benefit of image storage and retrieval using the PHOTOCALLER function, enabling residents to view images of visitors and callers to their apartment whilst they were not at home.
A delighted installer commented: “The cables were a selection of cat 5.8 core alarm cable and flat twin 0.5 mains flex; all cables suited the DUOX system which was easy to install and easy to program. Most of all it was user friendly which to me as an installer is the most important quality.”

Kwikset brand of Spectrum Brands, Inc. – Hardware & Home Improvement Division, announces that its SmartCode 888 Deadbolt Lock was chosen to become part of the new Home is Connected smart home system from D.R. Horton, Inc.
The inclusion of Kwikset’s SmartCode 888 in the system was based on its value (great functionality at an entry-level price), reliability, and high degree of security. Incorporating the latest Z-Wave 500 chipset, the SmartCode 888 offers keyless entry through a convenient, easy-to-use touchpad. Kwikset’s patented Home Connect technology enables the lock to wirelessly communicate with other devices in the home through a third-party smart home controller, as well as to remotely check the door lock status, lock or unlock the door and receive notifications.
Innovative program
D.R. Horton’s Home Is Connected system is included in the base price of each new home from the company’s family of brands
D.R. Horton’s 'Home Is Connected' system is included in the base price of each new home from the company’s family of brands. The system includes a robust central hub by Qolsys that controls the smart home features, including a home alarm and automation platform by Alarm.com, Honeywell Home thermostat from Resideo, smart switches by Eaton Corporation, video doorbell by SkyBell and hands-free, voice-first experiences with Amazon Alexa.
“We are pleased to be part of such an innovative program created by the nation’s largest volume homebuilder,” said Dave Seeman, Director of National Builder Accounts, Kwikset and Baldwin, Spectrum Brands, Inc. – Hardware & Home Improvement Division.
Convenience of keyless entry
“We are confident that buyers of D.R. Horton homes will not only appreciate the security and convenience of keyless entry that our SmartCode 888 provides, but also the endless benefits of whole home automation. To be a part of a system that includes such well-known, reputable brands indicates to us the high level of trust D.R. Horton puts in our products.”
Brad Conlon, Vice President of National Accounts for D.R. Horton, said, “We are pleased to work with Kwikset to provide this essential component to D.R. Horton’s new Home is Connected smart home system. We know our customers will appreciate the peace of mind that comes from Kwikset’s SmartCode 888 lock and the Home is Connected system overall.”

Rasilient Systems, Inc., the pioneer in forensic-grade video surveillance systems, has completed Phase II of the video surveillance system upgrade at Fairbanks International Airport (FIA) in Alaska.
Phase II at FIA continued the installation of modern video surveillance for the airport to meet the stringent demands needed to provide safety and security for the thousands of passengers FIA serves daily. FIA is a state-owned, public-use airport that averages more than 328 aircraft operations each day.
The Phase II video surveillance deployment includes Rasilient server and storage technology that facilitates distributed IP megapixel camerasThe Phase II video surveillance deployment includes Rasilient server and storage technology that facilitates distributed IP megapixel cameras; recording transmission and storage of forensic-based, high-quality video signals; comprehensive live viewing and playback; utilisation of purpose-built/designed digital IP networks; and intelligent processing of archived video, said Rasilient Director of Strategic Sales Engineering Dr. Edward Wassall.
Increased support for surveillance cameras
“These are key components that have the major video surveillance system requirements of scalability, video quality and reliability that FIA sought to implement when they chose to upgrade their security system,” said Dr. Wassall. “This current upgrade increased the number of supported video surveillance cameras as well as the efficiency associated with the management related to storage.”
Phase I, completed in the summer of 2018, included the initial deployment of Rasilient’s forensic-grade series video surveillance servers and storage. Rasilient’s purpose-built server and storage products provide a video surveillance system infrastructure designed to deliver reliable and continuous video surveillance with exclusive No Frame Drop (NFD) technology that eliminates recording gaps.
Enhancing visibility and storage capabilities
The Rasilient system has allowed FIA to meet the needs of today as well as to provide scalability for our future needs"FIA Building and Security Representative Dana Bowen said their primary decision to upgrade the multi-camera airside and landside video surveillance system was to enhance visibility and storage capabilities. The Rasilient system has allowed FIA to meet the needs of today as well as to “provide scalability for our future needs,” said Bowen.
“We are really very happy with the new airport forensic enabled storage system,” said Bowen.
Small, medium to large enterprise deployments are supported by Rasilient products and technologies, and they have been deployed worldwide to protect museums, government institutions, airports, seaports, military contractors, financial institutions, educational establishments, stadiums, and residential complexes.

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN), which manages more than 26,000 properties on behalf of Newcastle City Council, is taking an innovative approach to fire safety with a pilot project utilising thermal imaging cameras in tower blocks.
The ALMO has installed the thermal imaging cameras in three of its 45 multi-storey blocks across the city in a trial partnership with OpenView Security Solutions, with the project attracting praise from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.
Mobotix M16 thermal cameras
The trial of the Mobotix M16 Thermal Camera sees the cameras installed in bin chute rooms
The trial of the Mobotix M16 Thermal Camera sees the cameras installed in bin chute rooms. The cameras detect minute increases in temperature, triggering an alarm in YHN’s central enquiry centre before any fire has had a chance to take hold, meaning within seconds of a possible fire starting the alarm is raised with the fire service. The camera continually monitors the temperature in the room, with information relayed back to the fire service, enabling them to better prepare for responding to the fire.
David Langhorne, YHN’s Assets and Development Director, said: “The tragic events at Grenfell Tower have undoubtedly put fire safety in multi-storey blocks under a microscope, but we have been trialling new measures in our multi-storey properties for some time.
Faster fire detection
“We pride ourselves on being innovative, so it was an easy decision for us to test something that had not yet been adopted elsewhere. The early detection system provided by the camera has many benefits, but, most importantly, the faster response time from the fire service means the potential impact on residents and their properties is minimised and they and their homes are far safer as a result.”
“This trial system is one of many fire safety measures currently in place in the blocks we manage across the city, where we also have wet and dry risers, central alarm systems, smoke alarm activated bin chute fire dampers, and bin room sprinklers.”
Reducing false fire alarms
Alan Robson, Assistant Chief Officer at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said “It’s great that YHN is innovating in this way. Using technology to support the monitoring of storage areas such as this helps improve the information we receive about incidents. This technology can reduce false alarm calls and improve our response to confirmed fires.” The standard CCTV lens provides a live feed for further verification of events
OpenView Security Solutions is the UK’S largest privately-owned independent security company and a leading national supplier of fire, electrical and mechanical services to the public and private housing sectors.
Thermal imaging
The Mobotix M16 Thermal camera’s lens is triggered when an unexpected heat pattern occurs and automatically sends an alert to the central control room. Images from the thermal lens are automatically presented to operators enabling the exact location of hotspots, such as smouldering fires, to be pinpointed. The standard CCTV lens provides a live feed for further verification of events.
YHN’s existing infrastructure, which uses Openview installed equipment in the blocks to link alarms through to its enquiry centre via Jontek, meant the new approach could be easily implemented without any disruption to residents.
Innovative fire protection solutions
Andy Ward, Sales Director of OpenView Security Solutions, added “This innovative fire protection solution enables housing providers to ensure a safer environment for residents and minimise the incidence of false alarms. It now forms part of our expanding portfolio of fire and life safety solutions, one of the fastest growing areas of our business, and consolidates our leading position in the public and private housing sector.”
Commenting on the partnership with YHN and OpenView, Frank Graham, Mobotix Regional Sales Manager, said: “We are very happy to be working so closely with both YHN and Openview in the development and provision of an innovative solution for such a serious issue. Mobotix cameras have inbuilt intelligence to meet all the requirements of integrator and end users alike and we look forward to a longstanding and fruitful partnership with both organisations moving forward.”

HID Global, globally renowned trusted identity solutions provider, and Phunware, Inc., a fully integrated enterprise cloud platform for mobile that provides products, solutions, data and services for brands worldwide, has announced their collaboration to improve the experience for hospital patients and visitors to find their way within medical facilities, using wayfinding on their mobile phones. Wayfinding is indoor navigation to guide a person step-by-step on the way to a desired destination.
Wayfinding and HID Location Services
Phunware and HID are addressing the need of healthcare institutions to deploy standardised technology
“The combination of Phunware’s market-leading wayfinding and mobile engagement capabilities with innovative HID Location Services will ultimately revolutionise wayfinding within healthcare institutions,” said Phunware co-founder and CEO Alan S. Knitowski.
“It’s easy for visitors and patients to get lost in hospitals, and every time they do it puts appointment times and patient satisfaction at risk. With our location-aware app on a mobile device, we equip the visitor to get instant, turn-by-turn navigation that creates a better experience than that which is currently available on the market.”
Phunware and HID are addressing the need of healthcare institutions to deploy standardised technology to provide a better wayfinding and visitor engagement experience inside the hospital, across campus and even in parking lots.
Unified Healthcare IoT solutions
Healthcare organisations can easily lay out the foundation for IoT applications, such as wayfinding"
“Wayfinding is one more application that we are integrating into HID’s unified healthcare IoT solution to make it easier for healthcare systems to manage a growing demand for automated and streamlined experiences,” said Rom Eizenberg, Vice President of Sales, Bluvision, part of HID Global. “With HID technologies, we have changed the location-aware landscape, delivering location as a service. Now, healthcare organisations can easily lay out the foundation for IoT applications, such as wayfinding.”
Healthcare IoT-enabled platform
HID’s healthcare IoT solution-enablement platform simplifies the delivery of real-time location of clinicians, patients and devices. The platform is enabled by Bluvision (part of HID Global).
Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform
Phunware’s Multiscreen-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform also provides enterprise-level mobile wayfinding, engagement, data and more for other vertical markets, including retail, residential, hospitality, media and entertainment and more.

When a leading English university sought electronic locks for its newest student accommodation block, it turned to Aperio to extend its installed Gallagher Command Centre access control system.
The University of East Anglia (UEA) has relied on Gallagher access control for a decade. To extend their Gallagher Command Centre system to Crome Court—a student residence with 231 en suite rooms separated into flats for between 8 and 13 postgraduates—they needed the right wireless solution.
Wireless locking technology
Aperio wireless locks are battery powered, and so use much less energyUEA’s needs included more than just security, stylish component design and affordability. Crome Court was specifically designed to minimise environmental impact, including CO2 emissions. Any access control system was expected to contribute to that goal.
The university chose Aperio wireless locking technology from ASSA ABLOY. Aperio wireless locks are battery powered, and so use much less energy than wired magnetic security locks. They only “wake up” when a credential is presented to the reader.
On campus training
“We decided to offer Aperio to upgrade and extend our system at UEA because of its outstanding reputation within the security industry,” explains Jason Boyce, sales manager at Gallagher.
“Having worked with us for 6 years, Gallagher knew we would deliver,” adds David Hodgkiss, national sales manager at ASSA ABLOY UK.
Installation was quick and easy, aided by training delivered on campus by specialist ASSA ABLOY technicians. “We found ASSA ABLOY’s service faultless,” says Wayne Dyble, installation and support manager at Check Your Security, UEA’s service provider.
Environmentally advanced profile
There’s no need for expensive and time-consuming work changing the locks
Crome Court’s secure doors are fitted with Aperio E100 online escutcheons. Students open them with programmable RFID smart cards, instead of cumbersome mechanical keys. If a keycard is lost, it is straightforward for UEA facilities staff to cancel it and issue a replacement—using a simple web-based interface or mobile phone. There’s no need for expensive and time-consuming work changing the locks.
UEA also aimed to build Crome Court with an environmentally advanced profile. Here, too, Aperio delivered. Wireless locks are battery-operated and emit much less CO2 than wired magnetic locks. In fact, in carbon terms, Aperio locks emit 0.16 percent of the total emissions produced by standard wired locks.
Flexibility is another Aperio asset: additional doors can be brought into the same integrated Gallagher system whenever needed. “We hope to roll out Aperio across all new and existing residential estate,” says Christine Beveridge, head of campus services at UEA.

Round table discussion

Our Expert Panel is an opinionated group on a wide variety of topics, and we are dedicated to providing a useful and flexible forum to share those opinions. This week, our panelists address a range of opinions about several self-selected topics, culled from the large number of Expert Panelist responses we have collected in the last year. In this Expert Panel Roundtable article, we will share these varied and insightful responses to ensure they are not lost to posterity!

The residential/smart home market is undergoing revolutionary transformation, with a flood of new products and technologies helping to make our homes more connected, easier to manage and, yes, smarter. These massive steps forward provide challenges, and also opportunities, for the security industry, which has played a major role in protecting homes and residents for decades. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How are changes in the residential/smart home market impacting security?

“Don’t try this at home.” It’s a common warning, but how does it apply to security systems? With today’s systems becoming easier to install, and with customers becoming more tech-savvy, there is a growing market for “do-it-yourself” or DIY home security systems. The trend also extends beyond the home security market: Business end users may also think they can forgo a professional installer and handle installation in-house. The customer may save money by installing a system, but at what risk? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the pitfalls of “do-it-yourself” when it comes to security systems?